Cyberia
Cyberia (sī-bîr′ē-ə http://img.tfd.com/hm/mp3/S0383150.mp3 Listen), officially the Antarctic State of Cyberia is a country spanning the entirety of the continent of Antarctica. At 5.4mil square miles (14mil square kilometers), Cyberia is the second largest country by area, behind Russia. It is a state run almost exclusively by its military, which has been an integral component of Cyberia since its inception. The country has a culture mixed majorly between 21st century American and Russian facets and features, owing to the US and RU militaries and civilian workers that formed its foundation more than one hundred and eighty years ago. Following the militant takeover of Antarctic mines, the Russian and American separatist brigades held their ground against counterattacks and through many years of steady fighting, and formed into a new resource-rich nation founded on militant defense. Now in the 23rd century, the dissolution of the United States and the backing down of Russia, left Cyberia standing as a primarily defensive, technological superpower that is continuously improving itself whilst watching its territory vigilantly. Much of its military might is contained within its borders and in close contact with the civilian population. What limited physical outreach to other countries it holds is largely through trade, and less so through joint operation and training. As it stands in its present state, Cyberia is a country of diverse tastes and personalities much like their 21st century origins. Its government can be regarded as authoritarian only when its rulings are challenged, much like the notion that a bees' nest will not attack unless provoked. Otherwise, it makes noticeable effort to form most of its rulings around the population's majority interests, usually through direct majority voting. Etymology The name Cyberia was created out of the combination of the two words 'technology' and 'Siberia'. Though it is not an official "translation" as the name Cyberia is not a word, it can be expanded to mean "Technological Siberia". History Early History For many decades prior to the turn of the 21st century, Antarctica's volume of true land beneath a mile and a half of ice had its vast resources covertly exploited by the American and Soviet superpowers. Many mining stations were established in secret. These mines and other such important areas were heavily guarded, surveilled, and their civilian workers escorted by military units of mostly American and Russian origin. In order to facilitate the public overlooking of mining operations, the Antarctic Treaty System was established. Proposal to other countries was done whilst turning a blind eye to the resource operations happening over the continent. These two superpowers allied with one another for the sole purpose of keeping such resource operations hidden from the rest of the world. All the while, they slowly but steadily fueled their economies under the guise that these resources were coming from their own countries alone. Internal Unrest Through the decades-long duration of the operations, some of the high ranking commissioned officers that were stationed for the long-term in Antarctica began to think for themselves, rather than for the good of their home countries. These officers dreamed of a place where they could keep all the resources for themselves, and thus all the profits that come of these resources. Needless to say, this would be no easy dream to achieve, these officers were obviously in the minority when it came to plans for the future. Detailed war plans and contingency plans were passed around in secret to those that were surreptitiously proven to be feeling the same greed. Recruitment of more officers happened slowly but steadily, and secret meetings between these officers became a regular schedule. Public Discovery At the turn of the 21st century, a sudden and uncontrollable leak of information was launched by an unknown agent or agents. Nearly all classified documents, pictures and videos of the Antarctic mining operations was uploaded to to the public web, which soon gained traction in the world media, and thus the near-monopoly was heavily compromised. This came as a complete and total surprise to the planning military officers. However, to their advantage, since none of their own plans were ever officially known to anyone but them, their upcoming coup was still under wraps. Militant Coup Total lockdown of each and every mining station was ordered by the generals back home in Russia and the United States. The plotting officers complied. Under the veil of the sudden governmental alert, these undercover separatist officers feigning continued allegiance, requested extra supplies from their home countries. When supplies arrived, the same officers then ordered the planes to be captured and their pilots detained. Most of their troops complied, those that didn't, were quickly labeled as followers of the leakers by the officers, and also detained. These now detached battalions, under the impression that they were fighting against defecting sectors, used the captured planes to send soldiers to other mines that were in fact still loyal to US and RU. Battles between soldiers that were once one in the same ensued as a means to the end that was seize and control of each and every resource mine over the continent. Blood was shed and lives were lost as a result of fighting between loyalists and soldiers lead by separatist commanders, akin to civil war. The fighting and takeovers were relayed to the home countries by the defending fronts. With focus lost on suppressing information about Antarctican incidences, the general public was also informed of the violent outbreaks. The world stood and watched as internal conflict was breaking apart the chain of command; military officials questioning who they can and can't trust, sometimes even violently accusing each other of defection. With time, capture and control of the most crucial mining stations by the separatists was ultimately achieved, though many lives were lost and/or became prisoners of a new war. Soldiers that had killed their fellow men under false pretenses had began to question their commanding officers as to why they needed to do what they did. These officers consulted one another, and eventually agreed to finally let their men know of the true nature of the situation. That is, that these soldiers had just started a whole new war with the two most powerful countries on Earth. A majority of these soldiers were rightfully distraught and angry at their superiors for making them commit such atrocities. The officers utilized their contingency plans and defused any mutinies by talking their men into the benefits of becoming an entirely new and sovereign nation with all the resources it could need at its disposal. The officers also sold their men on the fact that surrendering when the superpowers come to attempt to take back their land, would lead to court marshaling and life sentences if not capital punishments. Formation of Cyberia The mines were kept in operation under the guard of a now disavowed military. Captured military aircraft were used to transport raw materials and many other types of goods to and from outside countries. These countries bought the materials, and soon with these profits, the Antarctic bases acquired the means to process and utilize their own excavated resources. This lead to an expansion of what small military bases lie nearby the mining stations, as well as additions and manufacturing plants installed. It was not without further conflict stemming from American and Russian interference, but the new permanent residents of Antarctica would go on to experience an almost exponential growth, and became known for their heavy defense and thorough scavenging of those that fall before them. They later would come to be officially designated as, Cyberia. Now in the 23rd century, Cyberia, named so for its technological nature and its frigid climate,is now best known as "The Brooding Dragon in the Impenetrable Castle". The dragon is in reference to Cyberia's state military, which is primarily and vehemently concerned with defending its icy soil, the castle it resides in. Politics Governance With the Constitution of Cyberia in place, the country is legally defined as a unitary stratocracy. That is, it is a military state (stratocracy) with a centralized power (unitary) that presides and governs over all territories of Cyberia. Much of its governmental offices require the office holder to be currently be enlisted in the military. Positions with more responsibilities and/or authority similarly require higher rank to occupy. Those who have been honorably discharged are allowed in some cases, however this discharge carries with it the ineligibility of promotion. Officially, there is no executive, legislative nor judicial branch of the government. Though, parts of its commonly associated institutions can be seen in the infrastructure of the government, such as courts of law (civilian and military), and conferences of lawmaking. Foreign Relations The country, at the present time, considers itself neutral to all countries and factions that it does not have an alliance with, however it is officially "always watching", which not-so-subtly reinforces the image of iron defense the country is known for. Furthermore, after the dissolving of NATO and other such mass-treaties, Cyberia is one of many countries that no longer acknowledges the authority of old war treaties such as the Hague Conventions and Geneva Conventions, though some humanitarian practices are still in effect, for example the non-targeting of assisting Red Cross soldiers. Military :Main article: Cyberian Military Forces Unlike most militaries, the Cyberian military is not officially divided between an army, navy and air force. It is noted that the military stay as one unit as closely as it can, for the sake of whole organization communication and simplified logistics. The divides it does have however, are done between official military installations and offshoot branches that deal with civilian affairs. The military is very deeply integrated into society. It can even be said that while most states have a military, the Cyberian military by contrast has a state. Political Divisions There is a necessary political divide between the military population and the civilian population. This division manifests in the form of the authorities that preside over them. For example, civilians who are detained by law enforcement or riot control after having broken a law, are taken to a civilian court of law. By contrast, personnel who are detained by military police are tried in military court. This is because Cyberian military personnel are sworn to a stricter and more draconian set of laws than civilians are as soon as they join basic training. Geography :Main article: Geography of Antarctica The general geography of Cyberia is very much unchanged from the point at which the continent it resides on was occupied. With the exception of the larger mining quarries dotted around the country, much of it has been left as it was found. Large swathes of land is actually more or less permanent ice more than 1.5km thick on average. Topography Cyberia's landscape can be described as coming in two flavors; high jagged mountains separated from each other by vast areas of relatively flat snow and ice. The Transantarctic Mountains divide the continent, and thus the country, into two regions; East Antarctica and West Antarctica. The east has become the most populated region due to the higher ratio of proper land beneath permanent ice sheet. This land is home to the majority of the rich resources the continent holds, and so is the home of the majority of the major cities that are supplied by such resources. Climate :Main article: Climate of Antarctica Due to Cyberia's location on the extreme southern edge of Earth, it is the coldest country on the planet. In fact, the highest natural air temperature recorded was about 17°C (63°F), which is only a few degrees above the common room temperature. On the coast, within most major city limits, the average high temperature is about -10°C (14°F). Areas deeper into the country such as Decatur and Articuno, city temperatures average around -55°C (-67°F). Economy The Cyberian economy is largely formed around the mining, and selling of its raw resources to other countries. It gathers these resources from its own mines all over the continent, which often reach more than a mile below the surface through ice sheets. A significant secondary form of income for the country is the sale of export variants of military hardware and similar technology to outside countries. Much of Cyberia's resources are used for itself as well, in the manufacture of almost all of its hardware across the whole continent. This has made it relatively easy for the country to survive on its own without outside assistance, and is a point of leverage for Cyberia in negotiation for it need not rely heavily on other countries for prosperity. Taxation The Cyberian government collects taxes from an nearly all transactions made in the country through ruling that any monetary transaction, down to even bank interest calculations, is to have its thousandths place and lower collected as tax. This is in contrast to rounding, where the final amounts are rounded to the nearest hundredths and left at that. Truncation tax collects that minuscule amount rather than getting rid of it. Sales tax, such as tax collected on consumer goods, in Cyberia is calculated first by percentage, and then a simple formula known as the "Ceiling Tax" formula is applied. Cyberia does not circulate nor mint coins or fractional denominations such as quarters or pennies, and the "Ceiling Tax" is the reason behind this, as physical money-exchanging transactions are assured to be whole numbers. Agriculture Agriculture in the country is nearly exclusively done within extremely vast and multi-level indoor facilities similar in size and shape to the Boeing Everett Factory. These facilities are equipped with very powerful climate control systems that simulate ideal conditions for healthy crop growth. Stepping into these facilities is often compared to stepping into an entirely different country. All crops have been engineered genetically in the previous decades for increased growth rate and yield. While there is no shortage of open space to plot and plant, there is next to no fertile soil across the continent, as most of it is covered in kilometers of ice sheet. This has led to the development, success, and steady improvement of synthetic products that rely on crop yield, such as food-grade oils and foods themselves. A large swathe of synthetic food products in many sizes and shapes have been and are being sold on store shelves, with many claiming to be indistinguishable from the texture, taste, calorie count, etc. of the genuine ones they exist to replace. Cheaper products tend to take the form of rectangular "food bars" lacking in color and bearing the consistency of protein bars, while more expensive ones are made to look just like the foods they intend to supplant. The synthetic engineering boom has resulted in counter-marketing against synthetic production. Terms such as "fake food" and advertisements on non-synthetic products pointing out the fact that they are indeed "genuine" are common strategies employed in anti-synthetic marketing. Synthetic Engineering This synthetic engineering market has also reached into non-food markets as well, the most important of which being motor oils and fuels of all kinds. Crude oil has indeed been found and tapped under the surface of Antarctica, however there has been a significant shift in the manner in which it is utilized. Nearly all lubricant oils and fuels in Cyberia are synthesized through proprietary processes. The fuels are known to be available in many levels of energy density. Notes a Cyberia does not have a singular capital. Its highest authority is a conference of multiple highest-ranking officials scattered across the country. b Due to the continent of Antarctica residing on all longitudes, it technically carries all time zones. Nearly all locations within Cyberia experience polar night and midnight sun at the June and December solstices, respectively. c The culled imperial system is a heavily trimmed set of US customary units. Officially recognized base units include inches, feet, miles, ounces, pounds, teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, pints, quarts, gallons, and Fahrenheit. Data rates are measured in bytes instead of bits. d Most of Cyberia's governmental offices require its personnel to be currently serving in the country's military. This is known as a stratocracy. It is a unitary system, wherein central power presides and governs all regulations, laws, etc. throughout the whole country.